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Nosferatu
Nosferatu---- Hideously deformed, hiding from the world's eyes in their dank holes, the Nosferatu thrive despite their ostracism from vampiric society. But what are they plotting in their dark caverns? What schemes are brewing in the nether regions of the night? The Noferatu watch everyone else, but who watches them? I've been watching you. I saw you eyeing and opening these vile pages. Don't look around. You can't see me anyway. But, ohhhhh, if you could.... Don't go thinking you're special, though. I just wanted to see your reactions when you read this page. I do hope you enjoy it. Just don't believe anything you read within these words ~~ for it's all true. ---- "Oh, woe, my prince, that one so lowly as I hath offended thee! Flog me into torpor! Stake me and leave me for the sun! Lop off my head! Just… don't send me back to the fief of the Lasombra Contessa Isabel… What? She is your enemy, milord? Why yes, I did escape her impregnable fortress… through the secret tunnel, of course. What secret tunnel, you say? Well, milord, perhaps we should discourse in your private chambers..." Caine's childer are called "the Damned," and none embody this more than do the wretched Nosferatu. Nosferatu bear an ancient and terrible curse, for they are no longer made in God's image; the vampiric transformation warps their forms, rendering them abominations in the eyes of men and angels. Outcast from mortal and vampire society alike, these misshapen horrors haunt the catacombs, wastes and other hidden places of the Dark Medieval world. In the nights of antiquity, Nosferatu rarely fraternized with mortals, but stalked the fringes of human society as monsters. Other vampires, dismayed by the Nosferatu's depredations on the herds, drove the creatures into the barrens. This exile, combined with the intrinsic revulsion their appearance inspired, made Nosferatu convenient scapegoats for all manner of dark deeds, real and imagined. This evil (and largely undeserved) reputation forced Nosferatu to remain ever moving, always hidden, never daring to rest for fear of extermination. Nosferatu often avoid destruction by trafficking in information. Their dependency on stealth, rapport with beasts and constant need to travel from fiefdom to fiefdom provide them with access to data unavailable to their less venturesome brethren. Even citybound Nosferatu find that their choices of abodes and victims make them privy to all manner of information and gossip inaccessible to the loftier clans. Nosferatu have learned that the most refined Ventrue prince will often hold his gorge, cover his nose and give up a beggar or two in exchange for information about his Lasombra rival in the next duchy. (And should bargaining prove futile, Nosferatu are not above a little blackmail. Since the coming of Christianity, many Nosferatu have modified their behavior. Seeing themselves as cursed by God but capable of redemption through Christ (or whomever), Nosferatu stoically endure their penance on Earth in an attempt to avoid Hell. Because Nosferatu must lurk among the lowest strata of mortal society, they find much opportunity to do good works from the shadows. Nosferatu are particularly attracted to the penitent movement; superhuman toughness and vampiric healing enable a Nosferatu to endure weeks of self-flagellation. The Sabbat Nosferatu have stronger intra-clan bonds than any other Sabbat clan. In fact, they refer to themselves as Nosferatu, not Nosferatu Antitribu, a title first used by the Lasombra. Still, their primary loyalty is to the sect. The Nosferatu who stayed in the Sabbat after the Anarch Revolt saw the new sect as their only real chance of acceptance in society, even if it was a society of undead fanatics. The Sabbat Nosferatu never really severed relations with their fellow clan members outside the Sabbat, but over time the kinship has waned. Some say their ties with the Camarilla are slowly dissipating as fighting renews and the information links dry up. Nonetheless, the bond these Nosferatu share with the Camarilla Nosferatu allows both groups to travel into the other's territory unmolested. However, they will not protect each other if they go above ground in enemy territory. They do send delegates to one another's hostings. However, many Sabbat Nosferatu do not let the members of other broods know they are Sabbat. Sabbat Nosferatu learn a great deal about the Camarilla from its Nosferatu broods. They also send spies to infiltrate Camarilla broods as a precursor to the siege of a city. The Sabbat Nosferatu will share any information they have with their Camarilla brothers and sisters as long as it does not jeopardize the Sabbat. While the Nosferatu of the Camarilla know more about the Sabbat than any other Camarilla clan, very little of their information is entirely accurate. Nosferatu Antitribu within a city gather and form their own broods. They even allow nomadic Sabbat Nosferatu to come and participate. Clan members do not hold the Vaulderie ritual among themselves. They trust clan members and claim not to need "manufactured loyalty." Sabbat Nosferatu are active in their packs. They are accepted by their fellow sect members more than the Camarilla Nosferatu are accepted by their sect. There are even a fair number of nomadic Nosferatu Antitribu, and a number of older Nosferatu Antitribu are members of the Black Hand or paladins. A notable difference between the two groups of Nosferatu is their ideology. Sabbat Nosferatu have adopted the standard sect ideology and appear to their kin as evil. The Sabbat Nosferatu do not skulk around in sewers as much, and they seem to enjoy the terror they are capable of producing. Nickname: Lepers Appearance: Each Nosferatu is unique, and each is more loathsome than the last. Nosferatu deformities are as innumerable as they are grotesque. Some wear the visages of rotting corpses, including missing noses and earlobes; others appear as tusked demons or feral rodents; still others sport bloated and distended features, like drowned sailors. Many lose their hair and sprout lumps and warts like a toad, or grow clumps of bristly spines in the manner of a hedgehog. Some are covered in pustulant sores and bursting boils; others wear a greasy, wrinkled hide; and some true horrors lack skin entirely, resembling flayed swine at market. A miasmal stench surrounds most Nosferatu, and plagues of flies and locusts often follow these vampires. On all Nosferatu the taint of uncleanliness hangs heavily. In an effort to hide their shame (and avoid witch-hunters), most Nosferatu shroud themselves in sackcloth swathings. Background: Nosferatu take their victims from society's pariahs: idiots and freaks, lepers, hermits, vagabonds, criminals, defrocked priests and the like. Nosferatu on the Road of Heaven often punish the prideful, hypocrites and other sinners by inducting them into the clan. Occasionally an outraged Nosferatu chooses a beautiful victim to make monstrous. Clan Disciplines: Animalism, Obfuscate, Potence